Crass culture celebrated in exhibition at Andrew Roth, New York

Written by FACT Team on Tuesday, January 18

The Andrew Roth gallery at East 170th street will play host to an exhibition, CRASS: selections from The Mott Collection, over the period February 18 – March 18.

The exhibition is comprised of artwork, albums and ephemera celebrating “the anarchic, self-produced” culture of anarcho-punk originals Crass, including LPs, 12″s and 7″s from Crass Records and a complete set of the Crass ‘zine, Inter-National Anthem. These artifacts are drawn from the collection of artist and curator Toby Mott, a famously diligent collector of punk material whose archive was central to the Loud Flash: British Punk on Paper exhibition that ran recently at Haunch of Venison in London.

“Crass embodied the anarcho-punk aesthetic of the late ‘70s,” writes Mott. “They privileged politics over musicianship, substance over form, and above all independence over profitability.

“The group lived together in an open community and used much of the proceeds from their music to support other political causes and organizations and to promote other small punk bands, such as Poison Girls, Conflict, and Flux of Pink Indians, through their independent record label.

“The group was also remarkable for its multimedia approach, incorporating films, zines and books of essays and poetry—all with the distinct, coherent visual imprimatur of artist Gee Vaucher—into their activities.”

CRASS: selections from The Mott Collection will open with a reception at 6pm on Friday 18 February. More information here.